The Arizona Starter Homes Act Explained

UPDATE 3/6: The State Senate passed a revised version of the Starter Homes Act (SB 1229). It will go to the State House and, if passed, will head to the governor’s desk. Take a moment to contact your legislators in support.

The state legislature is back with a new bipartisan Starter Homes bill. The premise of the bill is simple: Arizona has outlawed the most affordable style of single family homes, and we should make them legal again. 

Currently, cities have near total control of their zoning codes (the rules which determine what buildings are allowed to be built when, where, and for what purpose). In most cities, the majority of land is zoned for detached, single family homes with large front yards and backyards. Detached single family homes are appealing, and many people want one, but they are expensive. Land is limited, so requiring all homes to use lots of land will result in the creation of far fewer homes at much higher cost. 

Tackling Arizona’s housing crisis will require building more homes, but also building a greater diversity of housing options.

The Starter Homes bill presents a solution: legalize homes on smaller plots of land to provide a more affordable path to homeownership. 

Here are the major elements of the Starter Homes bill, labeled SB 1229 (SB for Senate Bill):

• Cities with populations above 70,000 may not establish minimum lot sizes larger than 3,000 1,500 square feet on new developments bigger than 5 acres of land. Eg, if you have an empty lot or formerly agricultural land that is zoned single family, cities must allow 3,000 sqft lots for the new homes. 
• Cities may not dictate what materials or designs are used when building single family homes. This is important because anti-housing cities could get around the law by requiring starter homes be made of prohibitively expensive materials, such as requiring red terracotta shingles on new roofs. Historic districts are exempted from this change. 
• Cities cannot require certain amenities in homes, or dictate floor plans. 
• Minimum setbacks are set to five feet on side lot lines and 10 feet on rear lot lines. 

Taken together, these laws would allow homes to be built closer together, using a greater percentage of the land they are built on, with smaller yards. This means significant cost savings for the home builder and home buyer. 

Importantly, the Starter Homes Act would also complement Governor Hobbs’s Arizona Is Home program, which provides financial assistance for low-to-moderate income first-time homebuyers.

Providing assistance to those in need is essential, but housing costs have risen because there are simply not enough homes to meet demand. The Starter Homes Act would mean more homes available at better prices, meaning assistance for first time homebuyers would go further.

Take a minute today to contact your legislator and tell them that you support (SB 1229) the Starter Homes Act to expand the path to homeownership to more Arizonans. 

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